Saturday, 19 August 2023

On Mount Ségou

Title cover of the project, depicting a blurry, purple mountain peak with geological formations. Based on the Sindou Peaks in Burkina Faso. A Mystical Horror Sound Novel
Play it in your browser on itch.io

Synopsis

There was a long-held belief,
In the Azurium Air Fleet
of the Mogho Naaba.

It was said…
That good fortune would come to a newly-wed captain,
If she took her bride far, far below the cloud layers,
To offer a heartfelt prayer,
To the Nameless One, on Mount Ségou.

About the story

On Mount Ségou is a very short (5-10 minutes) dark fantasy visual novel that came out in July 2023.

I submitted it to the 2023 “Only One of Any Asset” (O2A2) game jam, a 10-day-long game jam with strict asset limitations: entries can contain at most 1 sound effect, 1 music track, 1 photographic background, 1 sprite, and 1000 words of writing, not more.

This story is a highly derivative, highly concentrated dose of my usual and current obsessions, including Daphne du Maurier’s Monte Verità and Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock (yet again…), but also Ursula Le Guin’s work, and Shinsekai Yori.

Screenshots

Screeenshot from the VN where rocks on the mount are seen through the fog. Text: "Ellie hummed in the clear mountain air. Her wife Syna beamed at her. In joy. Trust. Recognition."

Another screenshot from the very introduction. All black background. Text: "There was a long-held belief, In the Azurium Air Fleet of the Mogho Naaba. It was said... That good fortune would come to a newly-wed captain... If she took her bride far, far below the cloud layers, To offer a heartfelt prayer, To the Nameless One, on Mount Ségou." "Mount Ségou" is written in red.

Last screenshot from the VN. Background: still foggy rocks. Text: "The wind was howling, Relentless, damning, binding them in its fury. Even cloaked in their azurium-laced capes, The cold seeped into the fabric's seams. Syna, wrapped in stately captain poise, withstood it."